VST/AU plug-in instrument/effect round-up: Week 1

New paid-for processors, synths and other sound makers

Let's get started

MusicRadar is already rounding-up the latest free music software and iOS music making apps on a weekly basis: now it’s time for us to start taking a long-overdue look at the paid-for plug-in market.

Our latest regular round-up will see us gathering together the most notable new-to-market effects and instruments for Mac and PC. To kick things off, we’ve got delays, a synth, an arpeggiator and, firstly, Waves’ Aural Exciter.

Waves Aphex Vintage Aural Exciter

PC, Mac/VST, AU, RTAS, $250

First announced at NAMM, this emulation of Aphex’s Aural Exciter hardware from the ‘70s has now been released. It’s designed to increase and enhance presence, brightness and detail on vocal tracks and masters. Get it on its own or as part of the Waves Mercury bundle.

vescoFX Cross Delay

PC/VST, $29 (introductory price $19)

Cross Delay promises to let you create advanced stereo delay images in your mixes all in a single plug-in (no routing between multiple plug-ins is required). You can send the echo output between channels, while the modulation section enables tweaking of the delayed sound with a dynamic combination of depth and speed (all on a single control).

Xoxos Amboea

PC/VST, $15 (introductory price, $10)

Do you make ambient music? Amboea arranges eight filtered stereo delay lines in serial or parallel with algorithmic crossfading to create a multi-delay effect that’s particularly suited to said genre. The developer claims that just one instance of the plug-in can turn any sound into a dense, continuously varying soundscape.

CubicAudio ProTon

PC/VST, £25.99

A new subtractive/phase modulation synth that’s designed for creating electro house basslines, fidget blips and 8-bit arcade-style effects. There are four oscillators, four filter types and several effects, while those who are seeking instant gratification can just head for the 128 presets.

Wok D-Arp

PC/VST, €11

D-Arp is billed as a dual MIDI arpeggiator… which means that it contains two arpeggiators. These can be run in parallel or with the first triggering the second: use them in conjunction with your virtual instruments to create sequences that you might otherwise never have come up with.